from: http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/Article.asp?type=live&AID=11924 lick Here: <A HREF="http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/Article.asp?type=live&AID=11924">Yale Daily News</A> ----- Published Wednesday, April 5, 2000 Eager juniors await secret society taps BY BRET LADINE YDN Staff Reporter YDN FILE Three new secret society members follow a senior on a past tap night. Students were fooled by Pundits recently pretending to be interviewers and leading them a wild goose chase.During the first weeks of April, a junior hears a knock on the door and knows that something out of the ordinary is about to happen. Several cloaked individuals holding candles wait outside. They take the junior to a strange meeting place where a group of potential members has been assembled. Each student is ecstatic as he or she is about to become a part of one of Yale's greatest traditions. The mysterious members ask personal questions and tell the recruits to call certain society members on a list. Their orders are followed as the juniors leave messages on various answering machines that include their birthday and biggest accomplishment at Yale. But confused society members return those messages, claiming there must have been some mistake. The unsuspecting juniors are told one-by-one that they have been victims of a prank, and, of course, are heartbroken. This year's pre-tap festivities were kicked off over the weekend with a slew of practical jokes as the pundits took advantage of the enigmatic tap process surrounding secret societies. Aside from the pranks, some societies legitimately began contacting potential new members through phone calls and interviews. While pre-tap activities unofficially begin tonight, the campus is abuzz over what some juniors have already been subjected to. "The pundits were taking people to the basement in Pierson and to the rooftop of the A&A building," said a junior who wished to remain anonymous. "There were people basically in tears when they found out it was a joke." Since there is no standard method all societies use to communicate with those they plan to recruit, juniors are left speculating whether they will receive a special phone call or be contacted by a mysterious person. An ad placed in the Yale Daily News by nine different societies March 23 indicated that pre-tap activities will begin tonight and last through next Thursday, the actual tap night. Among the sponsors of the advertisement were Skull and Bones, Scroll and Key, Wolf's Head, and Book and Snake. But some juniors have already been contacted. "There have been short interviews at places like Xando's," said the same source. "That's where Wolf's Head and Elihu were talking to people." Others have received phone calls or letters in the mail with vague instructions. "I was told off-handedly to make sure I wasn't doing anything this Thursday and next Thursday," said another junior who did not wish to be identified. Some juniors refuse to wait for some mysterious nighttime event to occur. A group of Stiles juniors living in the college's tower is seeking to form its own society. "We thought we'd have a little fun before finals," Justin Davids '01 said. "We were thinking about calling our society 'Wrath and More Wrath.'" Davids said the society would not be for everyone. "We were talking about holding interviews," he said. "For our enemies, it would be an interview process that leads to nowhere." While some approach societies with humor, others look forward to the friendships they might help form. "I think it would be great getting to know 14 interesting people who you wouldn't otherwise even get to know," said a junior who had been approached by at least one society. Sections: Home | News | Opinion | Sports | A & L Copyright © 2000 Yale Daily News. All rights reserved. Visit BoolaBoola.com to buy Yale shirts, hats, etc from the Yale Daily News! Click here!
